Even after injury-marred season Vavra ascends to 40-man

Even though injuries limited to him to just 48 games last season and he has only 40 games under his belt at the Double-A level, infielder Terrin Vavra made it to the Orioles' 40-man roster late last month .

Drafted in round three (No. 96 overall) in 2018 by the Colorado Rockies out of the University of Minnesota, Vavra came to the O's organization in a trade for reliever Mychal Givens on Aug. 30, 2020. Givens went to the Rockies and the Orioles acquired Vavra and Tyler Nevin, along with a player to be named later that would become 19-year-old Dominican outfielder Mishael Deson.

Vavra, 24, was out last season from mid-June until mid-August with a back strain. He returned to play for Bowie from Aug. 10-Sept. 7, but then missed the rest of the year, including the playoffs, with a sore hip. Between his time at Bowie this year and some lower-level rehab games, he batted .275/.406/.419/.855.

Vavra has always been a player with strong plate discipline skills that can work the count and he ignited Bowie's lineup from the top spot in the order early in '21. And Bowie got off to a great start with Vavra in there, going 9-2 over the first 11 games. And by the time Vara got hurt in mid-June, Bowie was rolling at 25-9 and held one of the best records in baseball.

In a mid-season interview, Vavra talked about the great chemistry on that Bowie team that would later play for the league championship. He said the players were learning to win as a team.

"I think our ultimate goal is to help the club in Baltimore win games and part of that is learning how to win in the minor leagues," he said. "So I think what we are doing here will go a long ways in the future and it will help the Orioles organization for years to come. We have a great group here. Lot of talented guys. Some young guys that, you know, are quick to adapt and are quick learners, and we have some guys that have kind of been there and they know how to go about their day-to-day business and handle themselves. That is what this team is, a bunch of professionals, and I hope I can be included with that."

He certainly could. And Vavra's walk rate in his shortened '21 season of 15.8 was third-best among any Orioles minor league player with 180 or more plate appearances. Vavra took the Orioles plan on the farm to work on making good swing decisions to heart.

"I think that comes from setting your sights on one pitch and being able to shut down anything not in that zone," Vavra said. "It's a blessing and a curse sometimes. Sometimes you take close pitches that maybe you need to be a little more aggressive with. But ultimately it's going to help you get a better pitch throughout the at-bat."

Before the Rockies traded him to the Orioles, on their watch, Vavra was the 2019 MVP in the low Single-A South Atlantic League. Playing for Asheville, he hit .318/.409/.489 with 32 doubles, a triple, 10 homers, 79 runs, 18 steals, 52 RBIs and an OPS of .899. He walked as much as he struck out, 62 times.

It was a big year for him after a solid start in the pros at short-season ball after the 2018 draft. And as a college drafted player who turned 24 last May 12, the O's decision for this year was for Vavra to skip high-A ball and start with Bowie, where he and the team got off to a strong start.

Vavra is rated as the club's No. 13 prospect on the MLBPipeline.com club top 30. The outlet puts a 55 grade on his hit tool and 45 for power. He gets a 50 for running and also grades of 50 for fielding and arm. With Bowie in 2021, he made 27 starts at second base, two at shortstop and nine in center field.

Vavra is a player that could work to become a future regular in the O's infield or maybe even push for a utility role. He probably needs more seasoning at Double-A and Triple-A, but he's on the 40-man roster now. That is one step closer to impacting the roster in Baltimore.